Russia is the second largest oil supplier behind Iraq for the emerging country with a population of 1.4 billion.
(Photo: imago images/Hindustan Times)
Bangkok It is obviously a manageable mission, but one with great symbolic power: According to local media reports, India is only providing a 75-person delegation for Russia’s large-scale military maneuvers “Vostok 2022”.
But participation is enough to give the Kremlin another opportunity for propaganda success: Even half a year after the start of the aggressive war against Ukraine, Russia can present itself as a great power that is still considered an acceptable partner in parts of the world.
The Ministry of Defense in Moscow on Monday listed a total of 13 countries as participants and observers in its major exercise, which is to take place in the east of the country and in the Sea of Japan starting Thursday with 50,000 soldiers. These include China, Syria and Belarus, a number of autocracies that Russian President Vladimir Putin can count on to support him in times of war.
With India, however, the largest democracy in the world is also involved. The government in New Delhi is thus demonstrating that it is not only sticking to the partnership with Russia for economic reasons, but also continues to rely on military cooperation.
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In this way, India is attempting to maintain a difficult balancing act: on the one hand, Asia’s third-largest economy wants to expand security policy cooperation with the West – in order to arm itself for a possible confrontation with China. On the other hand, the country would like to keep all foreign policy options open and therefore not cut the decades-old connections to Moscow.
To the dismay of governments in Europe and America, India is unwilling to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – officials in New Delhi are professing neutrality. At the same time, the country has massively increased its energy imports from Russia since the beginning of the war – and thus weakened the effects of western economic sanctions.
For Russia, the traditional major maneuvers in Siberia are both a military exercise and a demonstration of power.
(Photo: dpa)
Russia is now the second-biggest oil supplier behind Iraq for the emerging country with a population of 1.4 billion. When it comes to armament issues, Russia was India’s most important partner even before the Russian troops invaded Ukraine: a large part of the military equipment used in India comes from Russian armourers. According to local media, India is currently negotiating with Russia to buy six Tupolev Tu-160 supersonic bombers.
US plans military exercise with India in October
The participation in the Russian military maneuvers has not yet been officially confirmed by the Indian government – but it has not been denied either. Two weeks ago, China announced that it would take part in the “Vostok” maneuvers alongside India and other countries.
“The goal is to deepen practical and friendly cooperation with the armies of participating countries,” the Chinese Defense Ministry said in a statement. China’s participation is not related to “the current international and regional situation,” the ministry added – apparently with a view to the Ukraine war and the tensions surrounding the island republic of Taiwan, which China understands as its national territory.
The US reacted cautiously to India’s involvement in the military exercise. In a press conference, US State Department spokesman Ned Price referred to India’s historical ties with Russia and showed understanding that this cannot be changed as simply as “flicking a light switch”. Realigning a country’s foreign policy and arms partnerships cannot be achieved overnight, he said. “We see this as a long-term challenge.”
Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine there have been repeated protests in India. These communists blame Russia and the US equally for the conflict.
(Photo: imago images/ZUMA Wire)
The Americans are cooperating with India alongside Australia and Japan as part of the Quad security partnership. For the past three weeks, India and the US have held a joint special forces exercise.
Another military exercise between the two countries near the disputed border with China is planned for October. The government in Beijing warned against the interference of a third country in the conflict in view of the project.
Tensions between India and China have escalated since a deadly clash in the Himalayas between soldiers from both countries in 2020. The fact that the two rivals in Russia are now taking part in the same military exercise is not entirely surprising: Representatives of both countries were already present at the Russian maneuvers “Sapad” last year – India’s army took part actively, China was listed as an observer at the time.
It was initially not known whether Chinese and Indian soldiers will meet at “Vostok” or whether they will be used in different exercises. India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar warned in Bangkok last week that there would be no “Asian Century” unless China and India pulled together. “Right now, relations are going through an extremely difficult period.”
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